New tank.. what to keep while gaining experience for SPS?

[BobNY]

I am setting up a 125 gallon system that I ultimately want to keep mostly SPS corals in. Since I am new to keeping corals I would like to keep some Softies and maybe some LPS to gain some experience and let the tank mature before trying my hand at SPS keeping.
I would love some suggestions on some corals to add in the beggining (after cycle of coarse) that will stay small and leave plenty of room for my goal of a SPS dominated tank?


please see my signature for equipment I will be using.

Thanks in advance

 

[ludnix]

If you are planning on keeping SPS in this tank I would avoid most soft corals which can be difficult to remove later. LPS corals like frogspawns, candy cans and others would be a great option and are not difficult.

You may also want some zoanthids for lower light areas, they do not usually spread as fast as some other soft corals, but if placed in premium real estate where you would want SPS it could be an issue.

 

[Sebastian J.]

If you want a dedicated SPS tank, I'd start with SPS. There's a range of easier to keep ones - a lot Montipora species for example - and they'll encourage you to keep your water parameters in check. More forgiving corals could lull you into safety and lead to unwanted sloppiness.

 

[divewsharks]

^^ agree with Sebastian, nothing prepares you for SPS like SPS. Many monti digitatas and caps are relatively easy to keep, you can then try some birdnests and then move from these to more difficult montis and acroporas.

 

[Lamball1]

Depends, what your water parameters are. Personally i would always build it up slowly as you get nowhere diving in the deep end. Build up your experience slowly and i guess you'll have less problems in the future- start with easy to keep softies or lps.

 

[OwenInAZ]

I'm sort of a sink or swim guy, and I would love to have not started with zoanthids -- as mentioned above, now they occupy some prime real estate in my tank. Once you are ready, pick up a few cheap montipora frags from your local people and run with it. I started SPS with a green digi and an orange cap, and they are bulletproof. I've crashed my tank a couple times during the learning curve, and they keep on trucking.

 

[sslak]

If you are planning on keeping SPS in this tank I would avoid most soft corals which can be difficult to remove later. LPS corals like frogspawns, candy cans and others would be a great option and are not difficult.

You may also want some zoanthids for lower light areas, they do not usually spread as fast as some other soft corals, but if placed in premium real estate where you would want SPS it could be an issue.

Agreed 100%

Avoid things like xenia and GSP that will mat over the rocks that you want to mount SPS on.

I keep zoanthids on small rocks isolated in the sandbed, so I have 4 or 5 little baseball or smaller rocks with zoanthid gardens on them. This prevents them from growing where I want to keep SPS.

 

[israel.kendall]

If you want a dedicated SPS tank, I'd start with SPS. There's a range of easier to keep ones - a lot Montipora species for example - and they'll encourage you to keep your water parameters in check. More forgiving corals could lull you into safety and lead to unwanted sloppiness.

I agree and can suggest Seriatopora, Pocillopora, and Pavona. I'm also a beginner and have these three species in my tank, they all seem healthy and are growing well.

 

[Frogmanx82]

If you were going to add some softies, the leathers are the least invasive. Cabbage or finger leathers are easy. Something like a yellow fuji is a little more difficult but looks really nice.

 

[Reef Bass]

+1 for just diving in with sps. In addition to the easier types mentioned above, Montipora capricornus and Montipora digitata are excellent easier sps. My monti caps have survived every mistake I've made and M. digitata is a veritable sps weed.

 

[Kieth71]

I would say montis are a real good one to start with.If you dont want to start with corals start with good alk,calcium and magnesium test kits along with a good refractometer and make sure you can keep stable parameters for extended time.This will need to be adjusted as you add corals.Sps corals do not like swings in stability and its the reason you see people have rtn problems.

 

[Martie]

SPS newbie as well... Have found Porites Cylindrica to be pretty hearty, not the most colorful, (brown/yellowish in color), but still alive after 2 months. <Knocking on wood>

 

[divewsharks]

A couple of things to keep in mind.
- not all montis are the same, some digis are a little more difficult to keep, like forest-fire digitata, undatas and such can also be more sensitive to water instability.
- be careful of placement of caps, I'd keep them lower as they can grow fast, and as they do will begin to shade that which is below them. Those areas will become less desirable for light-demanding acros as your skills increase.

If you mix corals types, give them enough space, lps can reach out and sting that which is around them.

Hth

 

[MJinMN]

Sorry for hijack, but is the stinging of LPS why so many people seem to keep their acans on the sandbed, rather than on their rock structures?

 

[divewsharks]

That and depending on your light setup, most acans prefer considerably less light.

 

[BobNY]

Thank you all so much for all the info and suggestions. This is exactly the info I need to
Help me move forward with my planning. I will definitely do some reading on the species that
have been suggested so far.